The Impact of COVID-19 on Private Higher Education in Argentina from a Latin American Perspective

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic and national government’s consequent lockdown of all nonessential activities in March 2020 hit an Argentina already on the brink of economic crisis. All universities but one switched their course offerings for the new semester online. This presentation addresses the impact of COVID-19 on private higher education in Argentina as an example of a country where government provides little to no support to the private sector in higher education and the public support is fully funded by the government (tuition free). Although the private sector has been hit hard by the crisis, the impact will certainly be different depending on type of institution. Especially notable is how non-elite subsector universities have developed capacity to offer online education in the past fifteen years, creating a sizeable niche that neither private elite nor public universities had exploited. Whereas online offerings mark PHE’s most striking intersectoral advantage, the quite decisive distinction in funding sources marks its most striking disadvantage. The only public funding to PHE is for research and only a few private elite and religious institutions do research. While private elite institutions will likely survive the impact of the pandemic, non-elites, specifically those that have not adapted to online education, may lose some of their students to other private institutions. Also, due to the economic crisis and the loss of family income, students may switch to public tuition-free universities.